Any Kind of Dead Person
by LoloLizzy
Summary: When a familiar face finds herself picked up by Rick, she'll learn to become a part of the community they've built. When she catches the eye of the neighborhood redneck and the locked away bad boy, she finds she's in for more than she bargained for. Eventual Negan/OC/Daryl love triangle. Possible spoilers from the recent season finale. Chapter 4 up and ready!
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone! Feeling motivated by the recent season finale of Walking Dead, I decided this would be my first fanfic to start now that I'm back in the game. I hope that I won't let you down! Brief word of warning that this may contain spoilers from the most recent season finale!

This character is one that I've been brainstorming and thinking up for a while. She's a creation I've put some effort into, so I'm hoping that you'll grow to enjoy her as much as I have. She'll be a work in progress along the way, as I continue to develop how I want to take this story. The love triangle between this OC, Negan, and Daryl will develop along the way, and may be a bit more slow-burn. Bear with me! I also definitely cannot write Daryl in his dialect, so please just read it in Norman Reedus' voice.

This piece will be picking up a year after the war with The Saviors ends. I'm trying to incorporate a few pieces from the comics and tv show in here, but may not be entirely consistent with how things happen on either medium. I will NOT be incorporating a Maggie storyline that was hinted in the recent finale.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or the characters/developed storylines I will be incorporating into this pieces. I own my OC, and the original storylines that I build off of this already-developed world.

Rated T for language, violence, and some sexual situations. Reader discretion is advised.

* * *

The sun rose on a dewy morning in Alexandria. After the war with The Saviors had concluded, the survivors had worked tirelessly to build back the world they had longed for. With the Sanctuary, Kingdom, Hilltop and Alexandria all back to a functioning state, it was as if a sense of normalcy had been established among the chaos of the apocalypse.

At Alexandria, a van was being loaded for the day's run. Michonne gathered the necessary guns and ammunition that would be necessary to have as she, Rick and Daryl went on a scavenging run. They had scouted out a strip mall that was about an hour east of Alexandria when they had been on a previous run. The location looked not to have been too overrun, which could mean added supplies for the communities. The mall contained a convenient store, clothing store, secondhand store, and a couple of mom-and-pop type restaurants. If anything, they hoped to find some scrap items they could recycle into something new for the living.

Rick walked over to the van Michonne was packing. "Are we all set? Anything we're forgetting about?"

She looked at Rick, a small smile creeping onto her face. "We're set, enough ammo and water to last us for an overnight if we end up having to stop on the way home. Shouldn't have any issues."

Rick nodded. "Alright. Where's Daryl?"

Daryl walked his way over to where the van was parked as Rick mentioned his name. "Right here, man. Ready to go when you are."

As they opened the doors to the van, Rosita joined the group to be filled in on their plan for the day. Rick climbed into the driver's seat, and rolled the window down.

"We're heading the stores we found the last time we went on a long run. About an hour out. Depending on how bad the place is, we could be out of there in a couple hours, or it could turn into a day event. If we're not back in two days, send for help."

Rosita gave him a quick nod, and motioned to the members of the group stationed at the gate to open it for the departing group. Rick started the engine of the van, and started the journey to their destination.

Rick pulled into the parking lot of the strip mall that they had scouted out. A few stray walkers stumbled around the complex, taking note of the new visitors. Daryl quickly opened the door next to his seat, and armed his crossbow with an arrow to take down one of the undead. Michonne found herself a walker to slash as well. They kept their eyes open, taking down the remainder of the walkers that lurked outside. The three made eye contact with each other after a few moments of silence to clarify that they were alone.

"Let's hit the convenient store first" Rick decided. "Probably the most useful stuff's in there."

The three headed into the store, which had been significantly overrun. Most of the shelves were close to vacant, with a few items scattered about. They piled their backpacks with anything that still occupied space. Anything could possibly be used for the communities, they would just have to get creative.

As they rounded the store for the third time, Michonne headed toward the back of the store, checking the stockroom for any forgotten items. A stray walker made eye contact with her as she opened the door. She quickly slashed the lurker, decapitating it. Rick made his way back to join her, the two sharing a silent, but reassuring, conversation. Daryl kept a presence at the front of the store, looking out for any unwelcome visitors.

"We good?" Rick asked, as he started to make a way toward the exit of the back room.

"Yeah," Michonne responded, a quiet, almost breathless response.

The two began to make their way out, when a small creaking noise came from one of the walls in the back of the store. Rick and Michonne stopped in their tracks, looking around for a walker. Rick held his knife at the ready, quietly stepping around and keeping alert for the all-too familiar groaning sound the creatures made. Michonne kept her katana in her hand, poking around at the shelves for the unexpected visitor. Rick looked to the back wall again, when he saw the slight movement of a door on the wall. The small movement pushed the door out slightly, a small crack being present between the frame and the store space. Rick looked at Michonne, who motioned her head toward the door.

Rick began to slowly walk toward the door, anticipating a violent creature on the other side of the frame. When he and Michonne had joined at the door, they looked to each other one more time, before Rick quickly pulled the door open, his knife pulled back, ready to stab a brain at a moment's notice.

When Rick noticed that there was not a creature at his eye-level, he looked down to the floor, and saw a foot slightly pushing to where the door had been. Rick followed the foot up the leg that was attached to it, the leg to the rest of the figure's body, and the body up to the head of the person laying there. The woman's head laid slumped to the wall, her breathing incredibly shallow. She was not horribly thin, but her body looked weary and tired. Her golden brown hair was matted and dirty. Her eyes slightly opened toward the light that came into the closet when Rick had opened the door. Her hazel eyes peered up toward Rick, making contact with his. Once she saw him, she winced, and worked to part her lips for a brief moment.

"...Rick", she breathed, before her head dropped back to where it had rested against the wall.

Rick looked into her eyes, and was taken aback as he made this contact with her. The breathing of his name had solidified who this person was, and he immediately jumped into a protective mode. He dropped to the floor, moving her head and trying to wake her up once again.

"Allie," he started, feeling her moist face, trying to keep her awake. "Allie, listen to me. You have to stay awake."

"Rick," Michonne dropped to his level, trying to help him keep the girl awake. "Who is she?"

"Get Daryl!" he shouted to her. "Tell him to come back here, now!"

Michonne ran to the front of the store to bring Daryl toward the back. Rick moved further into the closet to move this girl named Allie, so that he could lift her out of the room. Daryl found his way to Rick, rushing to be near him.

"What happened?" Daryl roughly asked Rick, now looking at the figure that Rick was trying to maneuver.

"We need to get her out of here, bring her to the Hilltop. She looks dehydrated, feels clammy too"

"Who is she? Why are we bringing her back?" Daryl continued to ask, his quick temper beginning to take over.

Rick found a way to pick up the girl, cradling her close to him. "We need to save her, I need to save her."

"Rick!" Daryl forcefully said. "I'm not bringin back just anyone anymore. If we're bringin her back to our home, you're gonna fill us in. Who is she?"

Rick looked down to the figure in his arms, and back up to meet Daryl's eyes, his own starting to well up.

"It's Shane's sister."

* * *

First chapter done! So, Shane's sister Allie is character we have met tonight. Allison Walsh. How will her arrival impact the group? You'll just have to wait and find out. Read and Review, please no flames.

Peace. Love. Lo.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi readers,

First of all, a HUGE thank you to everyone who has read/followed/alerted this story so far. You all have been major encouragement to get the ball rolling on this and other stories I have in my queue.

I have written an outline for where I want to take this story for at least through chapter 9. I have a mental image of where I want to end the story (much further down the line), but that could change as I continue to write and feel for these characters more.

Hope you enjoy chapter 2! It's a bit long, but well worth it!

* * *

Allie rolled over onto her side, and her eyes fluttered open. She had been sleeping on and off for the past two days, regaining her strength. A man who had introduced himself as Jesus had brought her food. Rick had stopped by at one point to let her know that when she was ready to talk, he would be waiting for her. When Rick had brought her to the Hilltop, he had mentioned that he and some of the other leaders of their group would just like to know where she had come from, and how she had made her way to Virginia.

She swung her legs to the side of the bed, and mustered the strength to stand. The last few weeks of little food and water had taken a toll on her body, and the rest has helped to recover some of the weakness she had felt. She walked over to the dresser in the room, where Jesus had placed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt for her to wear. Allie shed the tank and sweatpants that she had worn to bed once she arrived at the Hilltop.

Looking in the mirror, she brushed the hair out of her eyes. She had been able to shower once she arrived and had slept for a while, and she had the ability to carry herself into the bathroom. Her hair had managed to dry itself flat, which made her let out a small smile as she looked at herself. After a deep breath, she put on her shoes that were at the foot of the bed, and began to head toward the stairs to look for Rick.

At the bottom of the stairs, a woman was speaking with the gruff man who had been with Rick when she was discovered. His long hair was covering most of his eyes, but as he listened to the woman who stood there, his eyes had made contact with Allie's. They looked at her with little emotion, more just noticing that she had made a presence in the room. The woman turned and looked at Allie.

"Ah, there you are," she started. "We've been waiting for you to come down. How're you feeling?"

Allie shrugged. "Much better than before. Do you happen to know where Rick is? He had mentioned that once I was ready, he wanted to talk to me."

The woman looked to Daryl. "Can you go find Rick, let him know Allie's ready to talk". Daryl gave her a slight nod, and looked at Allie one more time before leaving the room.

The woman went over toward Allie. "He'll go get Rick, why don't we go into the office and get comfortable? I'm Maggie, by the way."

Allie nodded and followed Maggie. "Nice to meet you. And thank you for letting me sleep forever, it had been a while since I could peacefully lay down somewhere".

"Of course, you're our guest here. Need to make sure you get your strength back for what's next".

Daryl returned with Rick a few minutes after Maggie and Allie had made their way to the office. The two were exchanging small talk about the structure of the community that she, Rick and others had built up since the war. Rick looked over to Allie.

"Hey. How're you feeling?"

Allie looked to Rick. "Better, thanks. Can't complain about a shower, sleep and comfortable clothes. You grabbed my car?"

Rick nodded. "When we got you into the car, you opened your eyes again and told us to get your car. Said you had all your stuff in there. Passed out once you said that. Stuff's all still in there, didn't want to move it til we had a chance to talk."

"Thank you. You don't know how much this all means to me. What do you want to know?"

Rick leaned himself on the desk in the office as Allie sat herself in to a chair. "How'd you find your way to Virginia? Last thing I knew, you were in Chicago"

Allie nodded, "I was. As soon as the world started going to shit, Shane called me. Told me to get my ass down to Atlanta, said he wanted me to be close to him. I hopped on the last plane out of Chicago, someone turned on the flight. That's when I learned you gotta hit them in the brain to get them to stop. Made my way to the old house, took all the backroads cuz the main ones were swamped. When I got the the house, everyone was gone. Stuff was gone, which meant he had left willingly. And then I made my way to your house. Used my spare key to get in, but no one was there. Things were gone. Clothes, food, photo albums. I knew they were alive, just didn't know where they went"

"They left together. Lori, Shane, Carl...they were all together."

"Were you with them?"

"Found 'em after I woke up, I was out for a while after the shooting. Once I gained my strength, I managed to find the group"

Allie took a second to take in what was being shared with her, and started to think of what she should share with them. She had a long story behind her, and wanted to share with Rick, but was uneasy to ask about her brother, and the rest of Rick's family, as she was yet to see any of them.

"He's dead, isn't he?" Allie asked, looking directly at Rick. "Shane's dead, right?"

Rick looked at her for a minute, inhaling deeply before slowly nodding.

Allie inhaled sharply, and felt her eyes begin to water. She nodded quickly to herself, and took another deep breath.

"I knew it all along," she said. "Just takes a second to let it settle once you know for sure. What about Lori? Where is she?"

Allie looked over to Rick again, where he looked at her, lowered his eyes, and shook his head again.

"Carl?"

Another shake of his head.

Allie breathed heavily once again. "Ok. Now I know. It's better to know. I've basically come to grips with the thought of never seeing anyone I knew again. You finding me was a miracle, if nothing else."

"What happened after you didn't find them?" Rick asked. "Where did you go?"

Allie folded her hands in her lap. "I wandered around for a few days, scavenged some houses where the owners had clearly already left. Found myself a group that was running around, and we found an abandoned community. Worked to build it up again. It was called Woodbury."

Maggie and Daryl immediately looked to Rick at the mention of the community that had raged war against them previously. Rick walked over to Allie.

"Woodbury? We know Woodbury. How long were you at Woodbury?"

Allie looked to all of them, noticing their uneasiness at the mention of the town. "Longer than I should have been. The guy in charge, Philip, he was fine when I met him, you know? He looked after me, made sure I had everything I needed. Charming, you know? But, as the group kept growing, he just got...his ego took over. His daughter died, and I couldn't talk to him anymore, he didn't look at me the same. He was cold, unwavering. And then, I found out he was taking out innocent people, and everyone was just letting him and I couldn't take it. So this one night, there was a big event, they were taunting these walkers...and I just snuck out of the arena. I went to my room, I packed my bag, and I fled. Snuck out around the walls. Just left. Found myself a car not too far out and I just drove. Drove as far away as I could. Made my way to Ohio. Ran with a few different groups until they were ambushed or their path didn't flow with mine. Eventually found my way to Virginia. Kept hopping around until a few weeks ago, I just ran out of energy. I lost the will to keep going and I just parked myself where there was food still. Found the store you found me in. And I just crawled up and I was waiting to die there. I prayed that God would send me a sign. Anything to tell me whether to live or die. And then you showed up, so I guess that was my sign."

"Did you know Michonne?" Maggie asked, coldly. "She was at Woodbury, did you know her?"

"Michonne? She was the one who found me with Rick and that guy, right?" Allie said as she nodded toward Daryl. "You know, I think I remember maybe seeing her from a distance, but I don't think we ever actually met. I kinda ran with the people who started it all up, mainly with Philip and Penny, til she died. Then I was alone for the most part."

"Andrea," Daryl huffed out. "And Merle? Did you know Merle?"

"Merle? That asshole?"

"Watch it, princess" Daryl started towards her. " 's my brother you're talkin bout".

Allie looked away awkwardly toward Rick. "Sorry, I had no idea. Although now that you're talking, I may be able to see the resemblance. Merle and I would talk, shoot the shit from time to time. We were friends, I guess. Andrea had just arrived when I was on my way out. Another reason Philip never knew I was gone. He was all wrapped up with her, he didn't even notice I was gone."

Rick sighed, realizing the girl who had been like his little sister had been so close to him and the rest of the group, but they had no idea that she was even there.

"Were you there when he took me?" Maggie asked harshly. "Were you there when he tried to kill my husband?"

Allie shook her head. "I don't know anything that happened after I left, I didn't ever see anyone from the town again."

"So you weren't there when they pitted me against my brother?" Daryl asked.

Allie shook her head once again. "I've never seen you before in my life. I had no idea you were related to Merle, I didn't know you guys even knew Woodbury, or Andrea. If I had known, I would have fought my way to you guys." Allie looked over to Rick. "You're my family. You're the one piece of the world before that I have left. I wouldn't do anything to lose that."

Rick took a minute to think, as he put the pieces together of Allie's past few years. He walked over to the desk and leaned over it, as he inhaled deeply. He turned to Allie and looked into her eyes.

"How many walkers have you killed?" he asked.

Allie thought for a few seconds. "It's been so many, I can't even estimate. I don't know, maybe somewhere around 500? It's been so long, I have no idea."

"How many people have you killed?"

Allie looked to Rick, looked away for a few seconds, then looked back to him. "27".

"Why?"

"Any time I killed someone living, it was always in self-defence. There are people out there, bad people, people who want nothing more than to live, and will do anything to live better than anyone else out there. People have come at me with guns, knives, axes, anything they could get their hands on. Most of the people were in Ohio, maybe 3 or 4 in Virgina. One in Georgia, it was a guy who was trying to get my backpack. Came at me with a machete, and I shot him."

Allie looked to the others in the room. "What else do you want to know? I'll tell you anything. I don't have anything to lose. I'm alone, and I need other people to survive. I won't make it another day on my own out there."

Maggie looked at Rick, who gave her a slight nod. She looked to Daryl, who gave her the same cold stare that often found its way to his face. She then looked to Allie and sighed.

"You've got family here, you can't go back out there when you've got family here. Maybe once we know you more, the rest of us will find you family as well."

Allie smiled for the first time in a long time. She looked to Rick and said "Thank you. Thank you, Rick."

A few minutes later, Rick had walked Allie to a garden, where Judith was playing. They looked to her from a distance, not intruding on her playtime.

"This is Judith" Rick said. "She was born while we were at the prison near Woodbury. That's how we lost Lori".

Allie covered her mouth and fought back the tears that welled. "Oh poor Lori,"

"When the world turned at first, Shane thought I was dead. And he had every right to think I was dead. He took care of Lori, and Carl. And he took care of Lori in the way I couldn't at that time."

Allie's head swung toward Rick. "You're saying...Judith…"

"Is Shane's. She's your niece, and you're the only biological family she has left. I knew that once we talked we'd have to keep you here. We can't keep you away from her."

Allie sighed again. "Well, it's a new beginning. Let's build back the family we had before this world turned to shit."

* * *

OOOOOOOOOHHHHHH! Allie was at Woodbury! I may write in a few flashbacks over the coming chapters, but none of her Woodbury story has too much impact on the person that she is now. Next chapter should have some more Daryl/Allie interaction. And sooner than later she will also meet Negan.

As always, read and review. No flames, por favor.

Peace. Love. Lo.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi everyone!

Thank you again for the continued review/follows/love. One of the reviews asked how I picture Allie, and her age. I picture Allie to look like Liz Gilles when she had blondish highlighted hair:  /images/HTixdL

For age, Allie is around 28. I imagine that her and Shane had a larger age difference between them, around 13 years or so. I think with the timeframe here, this story is taking place about 5 years after the apocalypse started. So if she was 23 when everything was turning, Shane would have been about 36, which I think makes sense. You'll learn more about Allie along the way, but those details I think help start to paint a picture of her.

I'm going to start writing flashback scenes as well, to learn more about Allie's relationship with Shane, Rick, Lori, and Carl before the walkers, as well as her time at Woodbury. Those will be in italics.

I'm also finding that I'm a much more detailed writer than I originally thought, which is leading to long chapters. I'm sure no one is complaining about that, but fair warning that I do tend to just write and write and write until my thoughts are out.

* * *

 _Allie opened the door to Shane's house after the doorbell had rung, and Carl, Lori and Rick stood there with smiles on their faces. Rick was holding a box that was wrapped with a bow on it._

" _Happy graduation!" Lori said, as she made eye contact with Allie._

" _Ahh! Thank you, come in, we've got tons of food and booze. Let's party!"_

 _The family joined the party that was already in progress. As Allie had mentioned, the kitchen was lined with food and alcohol. Lori prepared a plate of food for Carl, while Rick made his way to Shane, who was socializing with some of their family._

" _Hey brother," Shane started, pulling Rick into a hug. "The whole family here?"_

" _Lori and Carl are getting food first, figured I'd come let ya know we're here"._

" _Thanks, man. Did you get what you mentioned you were going to get Allie?"_

 _Rick showed Shane the wrapped box. "We got it, just gotta find the right time."_

" _Time for what?" Allie approached the men who had been talking._

 _Rick and Shane exchanged glances, and Shane shrugged. "Now's as good a time as ever"_

 _Rick handed the wrapped box to Allie. "Happy graduation, Allie Cat"._

 _Allie giggled at her childhood nickname. "Ooooh, let's see what my Grimes family got me!" Allie ripped open the wrapping, and lifted the top of the box. Inside sat a pink lined stethoscope. Allie looked up at Rick, her eyes lit with gratitude._

" _Every good nurse needs their signature accessory." Rick said with a smile. "You'll be the sassiest nurse on the surgical floor for sure."_

 _Allie's eyes started to tear up, and she went and hugged Rick. "Thank you, bro. You have no idea how much this means to me."_

 _The two separated, and Allie sighed heavily. Lori made her way over to the group._

" _I see you opened your present! Are you sure you have to run off to Chicago so soon?"_

 _Allie smiled and shrugged. "Northwestern is one of the best hospitals in the country. And they have me on the track to become a scrub nurse within three years. I can't turn down the opportunity to be in the OR like I've always dreamed of."_

 _Shane wrapped his arm around your sister. "You know, with Rick and I as sheriffs, I'm sure we could get you in the OR here sooner than that."_

 _Allie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and all I'd be assisting on is C-Sections and appendectomies. No thank you. I'd rather learn about brain and heart surgery"._

" _And it'll give us a reason to travel and visit the windy city," Rick smiled. "We'll miss you Allie Cat, but we'll be right here when you need to come home."_

...

Allie had been driven to Alexandria by Rick and Daryl, where they gave her a place to stay that had been built up as they revived Alexandria. Allie had gathered her bags from her car before they had left, as she kept the car at the Hilltop, giving the keys to Maggie. If anyone needed to leave there, they were free to use it. She placed her clothes she wanted to keep for herself in the small dresser, and placed the rest into a bag that she would offer up to anyone who could use them, as she had come into possession of a surplus over her time living off scavenging. She unpacked her pink stethoscope from one of her suitcases, and placed it into her backpack, for when it would come in handy.

After settling in, she made her way over to Rick's house, and was greeted by Michonne.

"Is Rick here? I was hoping to talk to him for a few."

Michonne made room for Allie to come into the house. "He's just finishing getting Judith dressed, he'll be down in a second".

Allie looked around their house, took in the atmosphere. "Nice place you guys have here, these houses are so practical, I love it."

"We built them," Michonne started. "Once the war was over, we rebuilt this community that had been destroyed."

"War?" Allie questioned. "Who did you go to war with?"

"They were a group called the saviors. Good number of them are dead, the rest occupy the Sanctuary, a community we trade with and work with now. The old leader from the Saviors is locked up in another building out here. Rick is in charge of keeping him locked away."

"You'll have to introduce me to him sometime, I've got badass sheriff in my blood", Allie shot Michonne a squinted smile. Michonne returned with a glance that was not as welcoming.

Rick made his way down the stairs and met the women in the living room.  
"Good to see you up and about, Allie Cat. What can I help you with?"

"I was hoping I could help out with something and start contributing. I can obviously keep an eye on people medically, but I can also jump in on a run if you guys are going again anytime soon. You know better than anyone else that I can keep up with the rest of you".

Rick nodded and chuckled to himself. "That is true, I was the one who helped teach you to shoot."

"That's cuz Shane got so fed up with me asking questions." Allie started to laugh as well.

Rick looked to Michonne, ready to explain the story. "Allie was 16, she had just gotten her first pistol from her dad, and he trusted Shane to take her out to learn to shoot. So he dragged me along to take her to the shooting range."

Allie jumped in on the story. "Shane started to explain to me how to stand and get ready to shoot, and I kept asking him every question under the sun. I'd never held a gun before, I didn't know what I was doing. Eventually he just threw his hands up and said 'Rick, you do it! I can't handle her anymore!' And I shot the bullseye on my first shot, thanks to this man".

Rick looked down, knowing in his head that he'd eventually have to share with her the story behind her brother's death, but spent this time enjoying the company that he was sharing with the girl who had been almost his sister in their past.

"I was thinking about heading out on run to the rest of the strip mall we found you at. Finding you threw a bit of a change into our plans. Would you be up for a trip back there?"

Allie nodded. "Of course, who's all going?"

"I was thinking myself, Daryl and Rosita. Michonne is gonna hang back with Judith. I'll go round up the other two real quick."

"Sounds good, I'm gonna head up and say hi to Judith before we leave, if that's ok."

"Fine by me,"

...

Allie went up the stairs to Judith's room, where she was playing on the floor with a set of blocks. Allie crawled onto the floor to her level to see her.

"Hey Judith," she started. The young girl looked up at the older one. "I'm Allie, can you say Allie yet?"

"Hi Allie," the young girl said, shyly.

"I'm a friend of your dad's, I knew your mommy when we were younger. I wanted to come say hi to you."

"Hi!" Judith said again.

Allie watched her play with the blocks, occasionally moving one over toward her. She didn't know how to interact with the girl who was being raised by Rick, but technically belonged to her brother, who wasn't here anymore. There was a flood of emotions running through her brain, but she refused to give in to any one in particular. There was a run to head on, and she needed a clear and sane head.

"Well, I'll see you later, my dear" Allie said as she stood up. "We'll play sometime soon, ok?"

Judith smiled. "Ok!"

...

Rosita and Daryl finished gathering the weapons that would be needed for their run into the SUV the team would be driving in. Rick and Allie began to head over from Rick's house, each with their own backpack and weapon in their possession.

"We all good to head out?" Rick asked.

"Think so," Daryl said. "The princess coming with us?"

"That's your new nickname for me?" Allie looked to Daryl with disgust on her face. "That's cute. I kinda hate it. Yeah, I'm coming. I know the area better than any of you do."

"I don't think we've met yet. Rosita. You're Allie?" Rosita gave her a slight nod.

"That's me, nice to meet you. Probably should head on out, right? Wanna make sure we're back before sundown."

Allie climbed into the backseat with Rosita, while Daryl occupied the passenger seat in the front as Rick drove them back to the strip mall Allie had called home just a few days prior.

As they had only made their way through the convenient store on their previous run, the group planned to hit as many of the other stores present in the strip mall. Their first target was the secondhand clothing store, as the group was always in need of more clothing to distribute to the community members. There were a few stray walkers that were wandering around the parking lot that were easily taken out with Daryl's crossbow, and Allie's knife. Each member had both a gun and a blunt object to be able to take out any surprise walkers with. The group easily made their way into the store, which had been previously scavenged by a number of survivors.

"Grab anything you find useful, stuff it into a bag," Rick instructed. "We can make use out of anything and everything"

The group started to sort through racks of clothes, depositing the useful items into bags that were around the store. Rosita and Allie managed to find themselves sorting through racks near each other. The one Allie skimmed through had more formal wear scattered in it. She picked up a tight, shiny purple dress and held it up for Rosita to see.

"What do you think? I could take this back and parade around camp in it. Really live up to that Princess nickname Daryl has dubbed onto me" she said, sarcastically.

Rosita looked at the impractical item and gave Allie a slight chuckle and smile. "You know, I think I saw some heels over on the wall, maybe you should grab a pair of those too."

"I like the way you think, so practical", she laughed.

As they continued to talk about the items they were finding, they heard a struggle in the corner across the store. Allie peered her head over to see that a couple of walkers had found their way out of a back closet and over to where Daryl was scavenging. Allie bolted from the rack she pillaged through and ran over to the corner where Daryl was. He had taken down two of the walkers that had come at him, but was struggling with the third and final one. He had missed its head when trying to attack it, and now found himself trying to push away the creature that was lunging at him. Allie made her way behind the walker and stabbed its brain with her knife, causing the creature to go limp and fall onto Daryl, who fell to the ground. Allie grabbed the dead walker by the shirt and dragged it to the side of Daryl, and offered him her hand to help him up. He took it, and brushed himself off, looking to the girl who had spared his life.

It was at this moment that Daryl began to take in her appearance. She wasn't the princess that had cleaned herself up at the Hilltop to look presentable and proper as she spoke about her apocalyptic experiences with the leaders of the group. She was now ragged and strong, just like the rest of the group. Her hair pulled up into a messy ponytail, her eyes piercing everything they made contact to with a fire that he found mysterious, and insanely attractive.

 _Can't think about this now,_ he thought to himself. _You've got a job to do, and a woman ain't gonna get it done quicker._

"Thanks," he huffed out, proceeding to continue to gather any items they could find.

...

The scavenging team made their way through the rest of the strip mall, and managed to make it back to Alexandria before the night fell. Daryl and Allie hadn't said any other words to each other since their walker encounter. After unloading the car, Allie began to make her way back to her house.

"Allie," Daryl yelled after her as she walked away. Allie turned around. It was the first time he had used her name.

"Ahh, so, Princess wasn't cutting it anymore?" she said with a smirk.

"Shut up," he said. "'Wanted to say thank you. Would'ntve been able to fight it off myself. You're alright, I guess."

She smiled a genuine smile. "Would have done it for anyone here, you guys are my people now." Allie looked down at her shoes for a minute, deciding whether she wanted to say what was on her mind. _Fuck it,_ she thought, _no harm in making a friend._ "You know, Merle always talked about you. We'd find ourselves chatting around a fire some nights, shooting the shit about our lives. He always told me I'd have liked you."

Daryl looked to her, his eyes lightening slightly when she mentioned his brother. She smiled at this, and began to walk away. After a few steps, she looked back over her shoulder.

"He wasn't wrong."

* * *

Aww, some slow-burn action is starting to spark. Next time, Allie meets the hot neighborhood prisoner, Negan! Wonder what their first interaction will entail.

I'm going to be adding a story status section to my author profile. I'm hoping to start diving into my other projects as well. This one has been my bigger priority since it is so easy for me to write, but it will be fun to get the gears turning for other stories.

As always, R&R.

Peace. Love. Lo.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi wonderful readers!

First off, I want to apologize for the delay in getting this next chapter up. Working a full time job + normal life events = not a lot of free time to write. But, I finally had some time this weekend to be able to sit down and crank out a bit.

I also just finished binging Stranger Things, and I've got a few ideas for a story for that show plus a few others I've had on my backburner, so if you're a fan of that show and/or like my writing, be sure to put me on your follow list.

Now, without further ado, the next chapter!

* * *

" _Just aim it at the cans, it's not that hard Allie!"_

" _Shane, please. You yelling at me is not going to make me shoot any better!"_

 _Rick shook his head at the siblings as they bickered their way through target practice. Allie had just gotten her first pistol from their dad as a 16th birthday present, and Shane had been tasked with teaching her how to shoot. Rick had come along for fun, as Lori had been busy that day, and he was glad he was able to enjoy the show the siblings had been putting on for him._

" _Look down the barrel, aim and shoot. I really don't know what else to tell you, Al." Shane was becoming frustrated with her inability to be a successful shot._

" _I AM trying that, but it's not working," she said, as she took another shot and missed._

 _Shane threw up his hands in frustration. "Rick, you do it! I can't handle her anymore!"_

 _Shane stormed off back towards the car, rubbing the back of his neck. Rick looked back and forth between the two siblings. He shrugged his shoulders and made his way over to Allie._

" _You alright?" he asked._

 _She sighed. "I'm fine, I just don't know what I'm doing wrong"_

 _Rick stood next to her. "Take a deep breath. Widen your stance. Aim your gun. Make eye contact with your target. Breath again. Then shoot. Focus and concentrate."_

 _Allie took a deep breath and did exactly as he had said. Widened her stance, aimed, locked into her target, took one more breath, and pulled the trigger. The middle can they had set up earlier made a noise as the bullet hit it square on._

 _Shane looked over from the car and noticed the fallen target._

" _Son of a bitch!"_

 _..._

Allie fired six bullets into the pyramid of rusted cans that she had set up for herself, taking each one down with perfect aim. Since making a home in the newly rebuilt Alexandria, she decided that she should make sure she hadn't lost the defense skills that made it possible to live in this run-down society. Satisfied with her accomplishment, she decided to take her confidence over to Rick's house.

Rick sat on the porch with Michonne as Judith played with blocks, passing the time. The weather wasn't too hot this afternoon, and there weren't any pressing runs to go on. He noticed Allie sauntering over to their house. She was dressed in a black and white plaid shirt, jeans and gym shoes, hair pulled into a high ponytail. He knew she was on a mission with the way she walked, he was all too familiar with that sway.

"What can I do for you, Allie Cat?" he called over to you.

She nodded over to Michonne. "She mentioned you guys have a prisoner at the other camp. I wanna meet him"

Rick shook his head. "Absolutely not. No way, I'm not letting you anywhere near him."

Allie folded her arms over her chest. "I'm probably right to assume you have somebody keeping an eye on him all hours of the day, that requires manpower. Manpower I can help provide. I still can shoot just as well as I could have, plus it would be nice to be able to spend some time with the other camp. I want to meet him, and I want a shift watching him."

"I already said the answer was no. This isn't up for discussion."

Allie sighed, knowing she had to pull out the only weapon she didn't want to use, or know the answer to. But it was the only way to get what she wanted.

"Rick, how did Shane die?"

Rick looked at her, his face immediately dropping. "He was overrun. We were out in a field by the farm we were staying on, we ended up getting swarmed, had to leave and start fresh."

Allie tilted her head and locked in on his face. "Now why do I feel like that's not the whole truth, Rick? You've mentioned this story before, and I have no doubt he was overrun, but it feels like the story is missing something. When it's your best friend passing in front of you, I would think that you'd have more depth, like every detail would be burnt into your brain. Now, because I know you're hiding something, I'm going to give you an out. You can tell me right now, and I'll leave the prisoner situation alone. I won't ask ever again. Or you can tell me about my brother on your time, when you're ready. But I meet the prisoner. Today. And I take a shift watching him. It's your call."

Michonne looked to Rick, worry and questioning what his decision would be. Rick's face remained unchanged from when it initially dropped. He took a deep breath, and looked Allie in the eyes.

"Get a bag together, grab your gun, maybe something to read. We'll head out in a half hour."

...

Allie perused the bookshelf in Rick's house for something to pass the time with. She couldn't shake the feeling of shame for having to blackmail Rick into what she wanted. But she knew he was hiding something about Shane's death from her, and she gave him the option to tell her on his terms. This was her one chance to use that as ammo, though. She hoped it would be worth it. She swiped Gone Girl from the bookshelf, and headed to the porch, where Rick was waiting for her. He started to lead her towards the car.

"Michonne is gonna stay with Judith, I'll take you over and stay til you're done."

"Sounds good, let's roll."

The ride to Hilltop was quiet, neither wanting to acknowledge the conversation that had led them to this journey. Rick eventually broke the silence.

"I'm gonna have someone in the room next to you when you're down there. If you feel uncomfortable, if he makes any move toward you, you yell and we'll come take care of it,"

Allie scoffed. "I'll be fine, Rick. I survived long enough on my own out here, I can take on one idiot if he thinks of trying anything."

"I don't care, this is non-negotiable. If you're going to do this, you're doing it on my terms. Is that understood?" He looked to her, the anger from their earlier conversation coming out.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. But just this time. If I prove myself, next time I don't want anyone watching me."

"I thought this was a one-time thing. You wanted a shift."

"A regular shift, rotating with everyone else. I thought that was understood". She looked to Rick, her eyebrows raised.

Rick looked back onto the road. "You're pushing your luck, Walsh. You better watch yourself."

Allie turned toward the road as well. "I know".

...

As they parked at Hilltop, Maggie came out of the main building to greet Allie and Rick.

"Nice to see you again, Allie. What can we help you guys with today?"

"Who's watching Negan today? We've got a bit of a change in the schedule." Rick took the lead in this conversation.

"Daryl's down there right now. Shouldn't have a problem getting him out of there."

Rick nodded and led the path to their makeshift prison. Allie gave Maggie a slight nod, and said "Good to see you again, Maggie" before following Rick.

Rick opened the door to the cell room to see Daryl cleaning a knife on the floor in front of him. Daryl looked up to see Allie and immediately stood up.

"Woah, don't get too jumpy, assface. That kind of reaction is gonna get us both killed," a voice grumbled from the shadows of the room.

Rick and Allie made their way to Daryl.

"What're you doing here?" he grumbled.

Rick looked over to Negan, disgusted. "Looks like we've got a change in babysitters today. Got a new face for you, Negan."

Daryl looked to Allie, his face scowling as it looked at hers. "You serious?"

Allie met his scowl with her own. "I asked for this, I want to contribute."  
"Plenty of other ways to help, princess"

"Leave me be, assface" she smirked when using the prisoner's nickname, and walked past Daryl. She glanced over her shoulder, "Really, I asked to do this. I need to do this. I'll be fine. See you when I'm done?"

Daryl chewed on his thumb and nodded at her, turning his back to walk out the door.

"Well shit, Rick, you brought me some eye candy. I have to say, this is much better than looking at Daryl's ugly mug for the evening."

Rick rolled his eyes and looked at Allie. "Daryl will be in the next room, remember what I said". He walked out and closed the door, leaving Allie in the room, with Negan behind the cell doors.

"So you're Negan, huh? I have to be honest, I was expecting someone more intimidating, didn't know I'd be stuck here with someone so underwhelming". She smiled as a feeling of relief fell over her. So far, he wasn't as intimidating as Rick had made him out to be.

"Well fuck, sweetheart, you sure know where to punch a man where it hurts. My balls didn't need that much of a beating."

"Get used to it. If I'm going to be around, that's probably all you're going to get from me."

"And who do I have the pleasure of getting my dick chopped off by this time?"

Allie rolled her eyes at his vulgarity. "I'm Allie. Let's get this shift over with."

* * *

Wow! I had intended to have so much more happen in this chapter, but once I had written so much, I knew I had to break it up into two. As I started writing, I knew I had to make Allie a little mischievous. I mean, if she's eventually going to have an interest in Negan, she kind of has to have a little bad blood to her, right? Next chapter we'll have a little more Negan interaction, followed by maybe a little Daryl? We'll see where the wind takes me. As always, please review/follow/favorite.

Peace. Love. Lo.


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